HSA Webinar: Fairy Gardens Throughout the Ages (and How to Make Your Own)

By Julie Bawden-Davis

Long before humans roamed the forests, fairies are said to have taken up residence in the cavities of trees, forming fairy houses where they took refuge. Dating back to the Middle Ages, fairy folklore says that these little beings possess supernatural powers. 

Many believe that fairies come from the elements—in fact, from Mother Nature herself. For that reason, it makes sense to add fairies to your garden. Even better, adding fairy gardens to your landscape elevates the magic and mystery of your landscape.

How to Make Your Own Fairy Garden

Whether you believe in fairies or not, anyone can make their very own fairy garden. A wide variety of herbs work well in these mini wonderlands. In fact, the diminutive nature of some herbs, like thyme and oregano, makes them fairy garden favorites. 

To create your own container fairy garden using herbs and fairy garden accessories, keep the following tips in mind.

Dream a Little Dream

The first step to creating a magical miniature garden is to dream up what you want the garden to be. A good way to do that is to start with a theme. Just like when you throw a party, knowing the theme allows you to plan and design the garden better.

The theme could be just about anything. Do a little daydreaming, and see what comes to mind. While doing so, ask yourself where you’d like to go if you were a fairy. A mountain retreat, maybe? A secret garden, perhaps? Or how about a beachside resort? The only limits are your imagination, and that’s truly limitless.

Choose Your Fairy

There are a wide variety of fairy figurines available to reside in your fairy garden. The type of figurine you choose can also help dictate the theme. Generally, if you’re planting a small fairy garden, it’s best to choose just one fairy and a supporting character or two like miniature ceramic animals.

Select Accessories

Once you have a theme, the ideal types of accessories quickly spring to mind. Using a cottage garden theme as an example, you will want to look for items such as a white picket fence, miniature stepping stones, a birdbath, and a gazebo or trellis.

Decide on Plants

For your cottage garden, you can’t use large flowering plants like foxglove or larkspur as you’d find in a human-sized landscape, but you can bring flowers to your Lilliputian paradise with small blooming plants like Erodium spp. (stork’s bill, heron’s bill) and miniature roses (Rosa sp.). Many trailing herbs, such as the aptly named ‘Elfin’ thyme, also flower in the spring. Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes) adds color to your fairy garden all year long.

Pick a Focal Point

The secret to creating a magical miniature garden that captures the attention of humans and fairies is to remember that in fairyland, less is more. For an effective, eye-catching miniature garden, be selective in your accessory and plant choice. Avoid packing too much into your garden, as it will look cluttered. From the handful of items you’ve selected, choose a plant or accessory to which the eye will be drawn. Then design the garden around that focal point.

Add Action and Tell a Story

The way to put life into your fairy garden is to add some action. Set the stage in your fairy garden by creating the illusion that something is going on. The secret is to give the viewer the “idea” of movement. What creates that illusion is how the fairy relates to her (or his) environment.

Think about how you position the fairy in relation to the environment. Is she pointing up at a miniature tree? Or maybe she is interacting with a fellow animal figurine. Position a fairy with her arms outspread facing a little kitty looking up at her intently, and while creating action, a story comes to life. The fairy has looked for her kitty all afternoon long and finally found her!

Whatever you place in the fairy’s line of sight helps tell the story. Putting a fairy boy holding a tipping teacup as he sits talking to his dog is another great way to add action while telling a tale.

Planting, Care, and Maintenance

Choose a container with drainage holes that has enough space to arrange your planned scene and is at least eight inches deep. Use a high-quality potting soil. When choosing plants, ensure all of them are either full sun or shade. 

Plant first, then add accessories. If you are going to put in a path, scoop out a half inch of soil and fill in with gravel or stepping stones. After planting, water well.

To keep your fairy garden plants within bounds, pinch and prune them on a regular basis. Don’t feed the fairy garden too frequently, as that will cause excessive growth. Keep the plants healthy with an application of a well-balanced, organic fertilizer every two to three months.

Join Julie on Thursday, March 16, at 1pm Eastern for her webinar: Fairy Gardens Throughout the Ages (and How to Make Your Own). Our webinars are free to The Herb Society of America members and $7.50 for guests. Become a member today, and enjoy all of our webinars for free along with access to the webinar library with over fifty program titles. To register, visit https://www.herbsociety.org/hsa-learn/herb-education/hsa-webinars/

Photo Credits: 1) Hidden home in the forest floor (Askoldsb, dreamstime.com); 2) Logs with little doors (C. Moore); 3) Thymus serpyllum (Kingsbrae Gardens, Creative Commons); miniature roses (The Oregonian); Erodium sp. (Macleay Grass Man, Creative Commons); 4) Tree with tiny door (C. Moore); 5) Fairy with cat (J. Bawden-Davis); 6) Fairy with dog (J. Bawden-Davis).

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Julie Bawden-Davis is a bestselling garden author, speaker, and University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener. Her work has appeared in a wide variety of publications, including Parade.com and The Los Angeles Times, where she had weekly garden columns. She has also written for Better Homes and Gardens, The Orange County Register, The San Francisco Chronicle, Organic Gardening, The American Gardener and Wildflower Magazine. Julie is author of several gardening books, including Fairy Gardening: Creating Your Own Magical Miniature Garden, Southern California Vegetable Gardening and Southern California Fruit Gardening (SoCal Year-Round Gardening Series), The Strawberry Story: How To Grow Great Berries Year-Round in Southern California, Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening. She is also founder and publisher of the website, Healthy Houseplants.com. Julie gains inspiration from puttering and planting in her Southern California garden, which was certified in 1999 by the National Wildlife Federation as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat.

Herbs and Vegetables Go Together in Garden and Kitchen

By Maryann Readal, Secretary, The Herb Society of America

Editor’s Note: This article was originally posted March 9, 2018. We hope it inspires you as you plan your spring gardens!

Recently I attended the Edible Yard Symposium sponsored by my local Master Gardener Association. It seems that a trend now is to plant vegetables and herbs into all of your beds instead of plowing up a special garden for these plants in the back 40. Last year, my husband tried to convince me to plant his peppers among my salvias, his spinach next to my parsley and his green beans on my garden trellis.  Oh no, I said to him then. But this may be the year to give that idea a try.

Garden author Judy Barrett, one of the symposium’s presenters, suggested considering a fruit tree when you have to replace a tree in your yard. You will enjoy the spring flowers and the fruit, she noted — another idea worth trying this year.

No room to garden? Not a problem. Find a large container and plant your herbs or vegetables in that.  Many nurseries make that easy by selling herbs and vegetables already growing in large containers. There is something uniquely satisfying about picking vegetables and herbs that you have grown yourself.

Be on the lookout for plant sales in your area. Many of The Herb Society of America’s units have spring plant sales. A check on the Calendar of Events page on the HSA website may help you locate some of these sales in your area.  These sales are a fantastic opportunity to find unusual plants that do well in your area. And you will find plants that you simply cannot buy in local nurseries and big box stores. Proceeds from these sales go toward scholarships and outreach programs by The Herb Society units.

So….be ready for spring. It IS just around the corner.

My Poison Garden

by Linda S Lange

It all began innocently enough, I suppose.

I mean, it’s not as if I sat down with my garden journal one morning and said, “I believe I’ll plant a poison garden over there…with some foxglove, say, and a bit of aconite for that lovely blue color.” Truly, I don’t remember how it started. But Agatha Christie may be to blame. Miss Marple, probably.

I’ve been a mystery reader for as long as I’ve been a gardener: Nancy Drew under the Christmas tree and puddling in the tomato plants with my grandmother. The two just grew up together, mysteries and gardens—organically, as it were. But it wasn’t until I had my own garden in Denver that I began to notice that some of the poisons in those mystery stories—especially those with a gardening connection—came from plants that I was growing in my backyard! Innocently enough, I probably chose them for the lovely flowers, or perhaps because I subconsciously recognized the name from a story.

After awhile, however, it became more deliberate—choosing and cultivating those specimens that carried a sinister back story, and studying the properties of seed or leaf or root, often with my fellow Rocky Mountain Unit members. Reading Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles mysteries and, of course, Amy Stewart’s Wicked Plants. More recently, with the HSA’s Herbal Fiction Book Clubs, Sarah Penner’s Lost Apothecary and A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup. It’s such a delight to learn that something I’ve been growing for years has a dark side!

Eventually, it became a point of mischievous pride. “Did you know those morning glories are poisonous?…Or those lovely lilies of the valley?”  Amusing to watch the innocent garden visitor step back and look around carefully.

“Of course you want to wait until the elderberries (Sambucus) are fully ripe, and even then…Take care if you brush against the rue (Ruta graveolens), it’s sometimes an irritant. Rhubarb (Rheum) leaves, of course, but did you know about Caladium and elephant ear (Colocasia)?…The yew trees (Taxus spp.) are actually my neighbor’s.”

“Let me show you the fall crocus! No saffron from this one. Colchicum autumnale is a whole different family and very bad news in the kitchen!”

The thing is, so many of our common garden plants can be “irritating, obnoxious, or downright deadly,” to borrow a phrase from Amy Stewart. What’s been the most fun about deliberately cultivating known sources of poison is learning about them myself and sharing the message that our gardens are not always as innocent as we might think. Often it’s just a matter of the dose or preparation that differentiates a health benefit from something more deadly – like the heart medicine digitalis from foxglove or cancer treatment, Taxol, from the yew.

Sound plant identification is critical, of course. My initial source is usually Thomas J. Elpel’s Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification, An Herbal Field Guide to Plant Families of North America (2013).  And it’s fair to say – again – that I’m a gardener.  I’m growing these things for fun and not for use! I drink coffee from the supermarket, and rarely – if ever – tea from my garden.

Photo Credits: 1) Larkspur (Delphinium sp.) in the foreground as a stand-in for wolf’s bane (Aconitum sp.); 2) Datura sp. and Ipomoea sp.; 3) Black elderberry (Sambucus sp.), elephant ears (Colocasia sp.), and lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis); 4) Down the garden path; 5) Author with morning glories. All photos courtesy of the author.

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Linda “Lin” Lange is a gardener, avid mystery buff, and incoming president of The Herb Society of America. So far, at least, she doesn’t think anyone has been poisoned in her Denver garden, but several visitors have been observed to step back a bit when the plants are identified and her husband is very cautious about harvesting.

Thoughts About Wood

By Susan Belsinger

I love trees. They are a life-long study for me. When I was a child growing up in red-brick rowhouses in Baltimore, ours was the only postage-stamp backyard on the block with a tree. It was a maple, and the samaras fascinated me. We called them whirligigs or helicopters and threw them up in the air and watched them spiral downwards. Many a kid climbed that tree and somehow, I managed to drag the lid of an old wooden toy box up there and nail it down so I had a tree fort—only two small children were able to sit upon it. 

The property that I have lived on for the past 40 years or so has lots of trees, and I walk in the woods nearly every day, communing with nature and for exercise—it is my daily solace. I tend to walk in the late afternoon, often just before dusk—my favorite time of day. This way, I get to hear the honking of the Canada geese long before I see them and stop to watch them fly over—something I will never tire of. 

Our woods are mostly Northeastern deciduous trees that slope down to the Cattail River. Down along the river’s edge there are a lot of shaggy-barked river birch, also some really big sycamores. There are quite a few types of large old oaks, as well as hickory and maple trees, with locust and cherry amongst them and sassafras and Osage orange along the wood’s edge. The understory consists of a healthy population of spicebush, with wild rose, honeysuckle, brambles, occasional viburnum, dogwood, and holly. 

I mostly walk the deer trails, and I sometimes take my pruners with me to whack back woody growth and brambles that encroach the path. The adjoining neighbor’s farm has many horse trails, so there are different options for my daily woods walk. Heading back uphill from any direction, I pass through or by the garden where there is a large stand of bamboo, where our songbirds spend the night. As the sun sets, they flit about and flock to this multi-complex to roost, and I take great delight in the cacophony of evensong.

Although I grew up as a city kid, I’ve been a country gal for a long while. In order to build this house, the woods needed to be cleared to make a place for it. It is a passive solar house, however the woodstove is the main source of heat. In the winter, it is a 24/7 job; it seems that wood chores are never-ending.

“Miraculous powers and marvelous activities—drawing water and hewing wood”

—P’ang Yun, Buddhist monk, 9th century

Fortunately, we have quite a bit of woods and often use downed trees that are easy to get to. Sometimes we cut down old or dead wood or trees that just need removing. Though they are necessary tools, I personally don’t use a chainsaw—I wait until that part of hewing wood is complete, and then I’m in for the long haul. There is the picking up of the cut logs and loading them into the wheelbarrow and wheeling them to the woodpile, if they need to age, or to the back porch, if they are dry enough to burn. There are many locations where it is not possible to use the wheelbarrow, and each log has to be carried out to a clearing. There is time during all of this back-and-forthing to enjoy the woods; resting and reflecting between trips, I find it can be meditative. 

Since the ancient tractor is not running, we’ve got an old beat-up jeep that has become the farm wagon. With the seats folded down, it can hold a surprising amount of wood. Three rows from floor to ceiling is over half a cord of wood. That’s how we measure wood here, in Maryland, and states north of here. Down South, they deal with firewood in ricks. 

Apparently, a rick of firewood is not a consistent measurement, and it varies from place to place—so one does not know exactly how much firewood they are actually getting, according to the website Firewood-For-Life (https://www.firewood-for-life.com/rick-of-firewood.html). They state: “The length of the logs dictates how much wood you get. Generally speaking, if the logs are cut 16 inches long and are stacked 4 feet high by 8 feet long, a rick will be 1/3 of a cord. If these same logs were cut 24 inches long, the rick would equal 1/2 cord.”

Regardless of measurement, once the logs are cut into stove-size lengths and then split, they have to be picked up and put in the jeep, tractor wagon, wheelbarrow, whatever, to transport them to where they will be stacked. I can no longer push a full wheelbarrow—I can only fill it about halfway. (It is good to know one’s limitations, and I have become thoughtful about this. I like it when the strong, young adults are available to help with this task.)

Recently, I tried to move an overfull wheelbarrow, which was on an incline—I knew it was going to topple over—and so I let go just as it happened; however, I was still moving with the momentum, and so down I went. Coincidentally, just the night before, I was reading a section in Twyla Tharp’s book, Keep it Moving, and she was discussing the best way to fall: don’t fight it—don’t try to stop it by putting out your hand—just go with it. And that is exactly what I did. Fortunately, I had on many layers of clothing, so when I landed on the leaf-covered forest floor, I wasn’t hurt at all. The hardest part was getting up: think turtle on their back + bundled up like the Pillsbury doughboy = LOL. 

What I have learned in my “cronedom” is to be more thoughtful…of my body and my surroundings. When working in the woods, there are all sorts of vines and stumps to trip over (especially when my arms are full) and branches and twigs to poke me, not to mention brambles that grab my clothes, hair, and more than once, have taken off my hat! Being mindful of how to bend—taking the weight in the knees rather than straining the back—gotta’ look out for these poor old aching knees.

Each log has to be handled again to unload them and stack them in the yard or on the porch. The back porch can hold a cord of wood, though it is five steps up and down with each armload of wood. You’d think I’d have abs of steel with all of this bending and lifting…not….I’ve still got a soft Botticelli belly, most likely due to age, gravity, my penchant for cooking good food, and enjoyment of a cold beer or libation after a hard day of wood-working. 

There is an art to stacking wood. In a freestanding pile, the ends have to be built up in order to hold the wood. They have to be sturdy and not wobbly, and the wood has to be stacked neatly, so the whole pile won’t fall over with a 30-mile an hour wind gust (yes, it has happened). The back porch stacks are ones that can be burned right away, and generally, there is a box or bucket of kindling nearby. All stacks are covered along the top with tarps to keep the rain and snow from soaking them.

Every day, the wood box inside next to the stove needs to be filled—it is big enough to hold enough wood for about a 24-hour period. While most house members use a big canvas log-carrier bag, I tend to carry three or four logs in at a time in my arms. It takes me about ten trips to fill the wood box, whereas it takes the others only three or four trips with a full bag. Slow and steady does the trick. And then there is the stoking of the stove, which is a science in itself. First off, all types of wood burn differently: some are dense, some burn very hot, and some shoot sparks. The dryness or wetness of the wood is another factor. Oftentimes, if I am busy cooking or writing, I don’t think of loading the stove, and it comes close to going out. Then, I have to use smaller pieces of wood to get it going again. So, having an assortment of sizes matters. 

I am the last to go to bed, and so I stoke the stove full and then turn the vents down to just the right place so that the stove will burn all night. I know the place where the vents catch just a bit and know to back off just a half turn—I know it by feel and by the sound—it is finding the sweet spot so that the stove will have hot coals for the first one up in the morning to tend. And then the vents are opened up; the coals are stirred and brought forward; smaller pieces of wood are added and then larger ones; and the house gets toasty. A kettle of water atop the stove gets filled every time the stove gets filled to keep some moisture in the air, since wood stoves are so drying. The bowl of bread dough covered with a damp towel is set to rise on a stool alongside the stove; soup pots are reheated on the stove; and dinner plates or bowls are placed on top to warm. Guests tend to gravitate toward the stove and stand nearby to soak in the warmth, turning from front to back to warm both sides. Cats and dogs lay so close sometimes, you’d think it would boil their brains! There is nothing like the warmth or smell of a wood stove. 

I am thankful for the trees, that I am able to be outside and hew wood, and keep the home fires burning. And, I am especially grateful at the end of the day to draw a hot bath, adding Epsom salts and fragrant and therapeutic essential oils, to soak my body in after a day of wood work.

Photo Credits: 1) Snow-covered trees (C. Moore); 2) Tree canopy in fall (C. Moore); 3) Wood stove (Angela Magnan); 4) Pile of chopped wood (Susan Belsinger); 5) Wheelbarrow full of chopped wood destined for wood stove (Susan Belsinger); 6) Stacked wood on author’s porch (Susan Belsinger); 7) Author carrying load of wood (Susan Belsinger); 8) Bath tub scene (Creative Commons, swister_p).

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Susan Belsinger lives an herbal life, whether she is gardening, foraging, herborizing, photographing, teaching, researching, writing, or creating herbal recipes for the kitchen or apothecary—she is passionate about all things herbal. Referred to as a “flavor artist,” Susan delights in kitchen alchemy—the blending of harmonious foods, herbs, and spices—to create real, delicious food, as well as libations, that nourish our bodies and spirits and titillate our senses. There is nothing she likes better than an herbal adventure, whether it’s a wild weed walk, herb conference, visiting gardens or cultivating her own, or the sensory experience of herbs through touch, smell, taste, and sight.

Susan is a member of the Potomac and the Ozark Units of The Herb Society of America and served as Honorary President (2018 – 2020). Her latest publication, Growing Your Own Herbs: The 40 Best Culinary Varieties for Home Gardens (2019, Timber Press), co-authored by Susan Belsinger and Arthur O. Tucker, is a revised, concise version for gardeners and cooks of The Culinary Herbal: Growing & Preserving 97 Flavorful Herbs (2016). Currently, she is working on a book about flavor to be published in 2021. After blogging for Taunton Press’ www.vegetablegardener.com for the past eight years, those blogs (over 484 to be exact) are now posted at https://www.finegardening.com/?s=susan%20belsinger. To order books, go to susanbelsinger.com. 

Herbs for Holiday Baking

By Peggy Riccio

When I think of herbs for Christmas, I always think of the Simon and Garfunkel “Scarborough Fair” song:  “Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.” Sure, there is peppermint and plenty of spices, but these herbs seem to be the most popular during the holidays. I think that is because these plants are still green in the garden. In my USDA Hardiness Zone 7 Virginia garden, I can still pick these plants in December to use in the kitchen. My mint plants, always in containers, overwinter well, and I can harvest spearmint and peppermint.

When using these herbs, don’t just think of flavor and cooking. Think of the plant itself, the structure, size, weight, and texture of the branches and leaves. Think of how the stem or leaf can be used to decorate the dish and your table. 

Parsley

Parsley is a biennial plant, hardy to Zone 4. It grows to about a foot tall the first year, and then flowers and sets seed the second year. There is the curly type and the flat leaf type. For flavor, use the flat leaf type. The curly type is great for garnishing. In my garden, I sow seed every year to have fresh parsley. We have mild winters, so the plant remains evergreen all winter long. Parsley is best used fresh. It has a very delicate leaf structure and stem that will wilt easily. Compared with these other herbs, parsley has a relatively benign fragrance. This makes it an ideal garnish; however, it wilts too fast to use as a holiday decoration. But picture the color of green parsley in a red cranberry dish or the pretty scalloped leaves—or tightly curled leaves—in a bowl of mashed potatoes for interest.

Parsley mixes well with garlic and butter, either melted butter or a parsley/butter mix for the table. To make parsley butter, simply add a few tablespoons of chopped, fresh leaves to a stick of butter that has softened. Mix and put in the fridge to harden again or put in molds. Parsley with garlic can be added to stuffing or a breadcrumb topping for a casserole dish. Parsley, and other herbs, can be added to roasted vegetables, including roasted potatoes. Melted parsley butter is great with seafood, especially lobster and shrimp.

Sage

Sage is a perennial plant that becomes a small woody shrub. It is hardy to Zone 4 and remains evergreen during the winter months. Culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) has green leaves, but there are many other types of sage with variegated leaves, blue-green leaves, or even broader leaves. All sages are edible. (Edible, in this case, means it won’t harm you. However, they may not be as tasty as Salvia officinalis.) Use the culinary sage for cooking, but if you have other sages, look at their leaves for decorative uses. The leaves are thick and large enough that they can be used for decoration if cut a few days in advance. For example, tie a sprig of sage and rosemary with red ribbon and put on the place settings. Add variegated sage to floral arrangements. Use varieties with large leaves such as ‘Berggarten’, or use large, mature leaves from other types to serve as a garnish for vegetable dishes, pumpkin pie, or sweet potato pie. With the large-textured leaves, make butter pats and place on baked potatoes (pipe soft butter on sage leaf and place on tray, and then place in fridge to harden). 

Traditionally, sage is used in stuffing or dressing and as a poultry rub. Sage works well with cooked corn, cornbread, and corn chowder. Sage can be added to cheese spreads, potatoes, roasted vegetables, squash, sweet potato, and Brussel sprouts. Sage also pairs well with citrus fruits.

Rosemary

Rosemary is a perennial that grows to be a large woody shrub, several feet tall. It is marginally hardy in the Washington, D.C. metro area, so it is best to pick a cultivar that is known for being hardy, such as ‘Arp’, ‘Hill Hardy’, ‘Nancy Howard’, ‘Dutch Mill’, and ‘Salem’. Rosemary is a great plant to have in the garden, because it has many uses. Because the long stems are flexible, and the leaves do not dry out quickly, you can use rosemary for decorating as well as cooking. Cut a 6- to 8-inch branch, roll in a circle, and tie with florist wire. Attach decorations and color with a hot glue gun such as small cones, plaid bows, and red berries to make a small wreath. Or, don’t add anything and use it to wrap around candles and napkins. Rosemary stems can be inserted in glass vases with red and white candy canes, added to any floral arrangement, or placed under a turkey or ham on a platter. 

In the kitchen, rosemary is great on roasted vegetables, biscuits, pork, as a poultry rub, or with butter. It does well with yeast breads, rolls, and biscuits, and stuffing or dressing. It also pairs well with apple and pear desserts. If you are making mulled wine or mulled apple cider, consider adding a sprig of rosemary as a stirrer.

The small rosemary plants that are for sale during the holidays can serve as table-top Christmas trees by adding mini-lights, balls, and bows.

Thyme 

Thyme is a perennial groundcover that is hardy to Zone 5. Thyme has very thin, wiry stems and small leaves. Because the leaves are small and lightweight, they are ideal for “confetti” on small appetizers or on a thick chowder. The stems themselves are too brittle to use for decoration, but if you have an indoor floral or green arrangement, you can insert a chunk of your thyme (pulled from your plant in the garden) to spill over the edges of the container as a “spiller.” 

Thyme is great in yeast rolls and biscuits, cooked vegetables such as carrots, squash, and mushrooms, cheese spreads, potato, pork and seafood, stuffing and dressing. Thyme also pairs well with butter and garlic. As with sage, there are many types of thyme that are all edible, but the flavor may vary. There are plants with silver leaves, plants with gold-edged leaves, and plants with gold leaves. These can be used as decoration. Then, there are “flavored” thymes such as orange, lemon, or coconut, which work well in baked goods. Consider lemon thyme pound cake and orange thyme cookies.

Mint

Mint is an herbaceous perennial hardy to Zone 5 and very invasive. If you are growing mint, grow only in a container. It is so hardy that it will survive winters here in containers, which should be about a foot high and wide. Mint roots very easily. If you are going to use a lot of mint in your holiday baking, you can take cuttings in the fall to increase your plants. You can even take cuttings so you can give mint plants away as gifts, tied with a red bow, and a recipe card.

There are many types of mint available for use, but during the holidays, spearmint and peppermint are the most popular. These leaves do not wilt quickly; they are firm with great texture. This makes them ideal for garnishing and decorating baked goods. Place mint leaves on cupcakes, cakes, fruit salads, and use as a garnish for drinks. 

Fresh peppermint leaves can be chopped and added to chocolate chip cookie dough or a brownie mix. A sprig of peppermint can be added to hot cocoa, like a stirrer. Fill glasses with peppermint sprigs and real peppermint candy canes. Add crushed spearmint leaves to whipped cream and add to fresh fruit. Use spearmint to make a jelly for pork or lamb, or add to vegetables, such as carrots and peas. 

Make a simple syrup with mint and pour over fruit salad, add to a drink, or use when baking. Make a syrup by boiling one cup water with one cup sugar in a small saucepan. Add one cup of fresh herbs and smash the leaves up against the pot with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 15 minutes, cool and strain, and pour the syrup in a glass jar. Keep in the fridge for a few weeks. 

These are just ideas to get you started, but once you start working with an herb, seeing the leaves, smelling the aroma, you will get inspired to use these other herbs for your home during the holidays.

 

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Peggy Riccio is the owner of pegplant.com, an online resource for gardening in the Washington, DC, metro area; president of the Potomac Unit, Herb Society of America; regional director of GardenComm, a professional association of garden communicators; and is the blog administrator for the National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Gathering and Preserving the Herbal Bounty: A New Video Series

By Susan Belsinger

Greetings and Happy Autumn!

I am writing this on the evening of the full harvest moon—it is shining bright in the night sky just over the treetops. We are also celebrating the Autumnal Equinox. I know that fall is here by the feeling in the air—cooler nights—and needing to grab that extra blanket; the smells are different—moist, earthy, and leafy; the departure of the hummingbirds since the jewelweed blooms are fading; the slowing down of plant growth in the garden and the ripening of others—herbs are maturing, flowers are showing off their last hurrahs, and many plants are producing seeds. It is time for gathering the bounty and celebrating the harvest!

I am simply delighted to share some news with you. Last harvest season, I made three educational videos featuring “Gathering and Preserving the Herbal Bounty” for members of The Herb Society of America.

These videos give instructions for harvesting and preserving herbs fresh from the garden. Simple tried-and-true techniques are shown and discussed in 15-minute segments. These video shorts cover some of the best ways to preserve herbs, with each technique discussed in detail, and relevant recipes included. 

The three videos include:  “Aromatic Herbal Pastes & Butters,” “Herb Salts, Sugars & Honeys,” and “Herbal Mustards.” Below are brief descriptions of each video.

Aromatic Herbal Pastes and Herb Butters

Using fresh herbs to make herbal pastes is a quick and easy way to put up the herbal harvest and captures the essence for long-term storage in the freezer.

Butters are a great way to feature herbs, and the combinations are infinite as well as tasty; they can be eaten right away or stored in the fridge or freezer, whether they are made into logs for slicing or packed into crocks. 

Herb Salts, Sugars, and Honey

Adding herbs to sugar or salt is a good way to have herbs stored and readily available to use. Herb sugars can be added to desserts, baked goods, beverages, or used to rim a cocktail glass, while salts can be added to any savory dish while cooking or as a garnish for breads, crackers, salads, and vegetables. I had to add herbal honeys in at the end of this video, since I prepare and use them often and they are so easy to make.

Herbal Mustards

Making mustard is fairly easy and can be quite delicious when embellished with herbs. Knowing the process and ingredients and how they work will result in an array of tasty condiments. Do make these—they will expand your herbal horizons—you will love them!

Each one of these short videos is shot in my home kitchen and are chockablock full of information. I also include handouts with lots of information and recipes. The videos are located in the member section of The Herb Society of America website. Members have free access to these and the webinar library with over 60 titles to inspire and educate on a wide variety of herbal topics. Join today to enjoy these and other member benefits: https://www.herbsociety.org/join.html

I hope that these videos inspire y’all to get out there right away and gather your herbs to preserve your herbal bounty! These methods are great ways to capture the essence of herbs. You will be so glad that you did come winter. As a bonus, all of these homemade products make wonderfully tasty and heartfelt gifts.

Here’s to a bountiful harvest season and happy herbing!

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Susan is a culinary herbalist, food writer, educator, and photographer whose work has been published in numerous publications. She has authored a number of award-winning books. Her latest book, The Culinary Herbal: Growing & Preserving 97 Flavorful Herbs was co-authored with the late Dr. Arthur Tucker.

Susan is passionate about herbs and her work, sharing the joy of gardening and cooking through teaching & writing, and inspiring others to get in touch with their senses of smell & taste.

Finding Peace in the Garden

By Karen Kennedy
HSA Education Coordinator

The lazy days of summer quickly transition to the more scheduled and hurried days of autumn. While glorious hues are found in changing leaf color and late season blooms like goldenrod and Joe-Pye weed, the pace of our world undeniably quickens during this season. Add the additional stress and worry about the Covid-19 pandemic and the message is clear–take time to personally cultivate peace and manage stress.

Research by environmental psychologists like Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, as well as landscape architects like Clare Cooper Marcus and Naomi Sachs and others, points to the overall positive impact of plant-rich environments and contact with nature on reducing mental fatigue and increasing feelings of restoration, recovery from stress, and improved mood (Haller, Kennedy and Capra, 2019).

Gardeners, without knowledge of the research, often say they find peace and solace in the garden. The act of gardening, tending plants, and focusing on their care and growth, is a peaceful and mentally renewing activity for the gardener. Does fragrance have a role in the enjoyment and satisfaction of gardening? 

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the garden is fragrance. The sense of smell is closely tied to our limbic system and can have a powerful impact on feelings of well-being. The fragrance of herbs such as lavender has a well-known association with relaxation and stress relief. Lavender also has a long history of having skin soothing properties, is a sleep aid, and can even relieve headaches. This favorite garden herb is now easily found in all sorts of self-care products from shampoo to body lotions. 

To have a bit of lavender to carry beyond the garden, see below for directions on how to make a roll-on lavender oil blend. This portable project is a wonderful treat to add to a self-care strategy and quite literally, add to one’s tool bag (purse, backpack or pocket)! Especially as we all grow weary of wearing a mask for many hours, putting some on the edge of your mask or on the bridge of your nose will give access to the fragrance where it is needed the most.

Author and HSA member Janice Cox, in her workbook Beautiful Lavender, A Guide and Workbook for Growing, Using, and Enjoying Lavender, shares the following recipe for making roll-on lavender scented oils. 

To make one Roll-on Lavender Bottle:

1 to 2 teaspoons almond, jojoba, argan, avocado, olive, or grapeseed oil

¼ teaspoon dried lavender buds

1 to 2 drops lavender essential oil

1-ounce glass roller bottle

Add dried herbs to the bottle. Top with oils and secure the top.

To use, roll a small amount behind your ears, on your wrists, temples or even on the edge of your face mask. Inhale and let the lavender aroma soothe your spirit.

Experiment with other herb combinations such as:

•     Relaxing blend – lavender, chamomile, and cinnamon
•     Energizing blend – lavender, dried citrus peel, and mint
•     Refreshing blend – lavender, eucalyptus, and cedar

Note: use only dried plants when making scented oils. Adding a couple drops of vitamin E oil will act as a natural preservative, making the oil blends last longer.

Herbalist Maria Noel Groves of Wintergreen Botanicals Herbal Clinic and Education Center has additional information on making infused oils in her blog. You can read more about a variety of methods there: https://wintergreenbotanicals.com/2019/08/28/diy-herb-infused-oils-2/

Maria will share other aspects of using peaceful herbs in The Herb Society’s upcoming webinar: Growing & Using Peaceful Herbs. She will talk about growing herbs that promote sleep, boost mood, quell anxiety, and encourage calm energy. She will discuss growing herbs in any size garden. The webinar will take place September 23rd at 1pm EDT.  Our webinars are free to The Herb Society of America members and $5.00 for guests. Become a member today, and enjoy all of our webinars for free along with access to the webinar library with over fifty program titles. To register, visit  www.HerbSociety.org/hsa-learn/hsa-webinars/.

Photo Credits: 1) Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) (Maria Noel Groves); 2) Passionflower and garden bouquet (Maria Noel Groves); 3) Essential oil roll-ons (Janice Cox); 4) Maria Noel Groves (Maria Noel Groves)

Medicinal Disclaimer: It is the policy of The Herb Society of America, Inc. not to advise or recommend herbs for medicinal or health use. This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a recommendation or an endorsement of any particular medical or health treatment. Please consult a health care provider before pursuing any herbal treatments.

References

Haller, R. L., and K. L. Kennedy, C. L. Capra. 2019. The profession and practice of horticultural therapy. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

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Karen Kennedy has been the Education Coordinator for The Herb Society of America since 2012. In this position she coordinates and moderates monthly educational webinars, gives presentations, manages digital education programs and produces educational materials such as the Herb of the Month program,  https://www.herbsociety.org/hsa-learn/herb-of-the-month.html. In addition, she is a registered horticultural therapist (HT) with over 30 years of HT and wellness programming experience in health care, social service organizations, and public gardens. Karen loves to garden, knit, drink tea, and is a big fan of her daughter’s soccer team. She lives in Concord Township, near Cleveland, OH, with her husband, daughter and schnoodle, Jaxson.

HSA Webinar: Herbal Hues

by Sasha Duerr

Sasha Duerr is an artist, designer and educator who works with plant-based color and natural palettes. Join her this Thursday, August 26 at 3pm Eastern as she explores creating natural dyes. 
Our webinars are free to The Herb Society of America members and $5.00 for guests. Become a member today, and enjoy all of our webinars for free along with access to the webinar library with over fifty program titles. To register, visit  www.HerbSociety.org/hsa-learn/hsa-webinars/ 

 

For those who love color AND plants, natural dyes connect you instantly to a vast range of artisanal hues that are truly vital, vibrant, and inherently meaningful through the ingredients themselves.

Plant-based palettes tell stories that are inherent to places, people, and the plants, and plant-based colors can be conjured seasonally from weeds, yard waste, florals, and food. There is an intertwined overlap with natural colors that are awe-inspiring and a color story that can directly color map an experience, like a walk in the woods, a seasonal produce palette made from by-products of your local farmers market, hues from medicinal plants, or even weeds or green waste found in your own backyard or neighborhood.

Natural color palettes can create wonder in the form of an inspirational curated experience on a whole other level, since the colors come from a living source. Botanical color palettes are stunningly visual, while at the same time they connect us to our senses holistically – inspiring us toward the creativity, wonder and importance of plants and their unique ecologies. 

Lavender, mint, and passionflower leaves, which are sources of natural dyes, also have soothing therapeutic properties, easing sleep and anxiety by calming stressed nerves. These plants, as well as marigold, rosemary, sage, and aloe can also create a spectrum of aromatic hues from soothing yellows, to in-between blues, greens, and gray. True color therapy through and through. 

Creating a color story harvested directly from your herb garden can be as easy as brewing a tea. Herbs valued since ancient times engage us in a wide range of ways through the vitality of their aromatic, medicinal, and culinary uses, as well as the gorgeous colors they can create. 

Natural color palettes point toward the uniqueness of time and place and that is what makes the palette even more awe-inspiring than a synthetic one. The beauty and depth of working with plant-based palettes brings authenticity and immediate connection and story building built in with your color palettes because they come from slow and steady living sources.  

These colorful experiences speak of thousands of years of ethnobotany- a true and undeniable color coordination of nature and culture, which has, for the most part, remained dormant since the Industrial Revolution except by those dedicated communities and individuals who have kept the natural color spectrums brilliantly alive.

GATHERING

Working with natural color can be a way to forage for beautiful natural hues and to connect with your local ecologies, even in your own backyard or urban sidewalk. When working with a landscape, consider what is abundant, in season, accessible, and even invasive. Wild fennel – seasonally abundant on the West Coast or in summer gardens – can be quite an aggressive plant in the landscape (even on urban sidewalks!) making it a wonderful and seasonal dye to gather. Collecting fennel flowers and fronds at their peak or just after provides the brightest hues. Wild fennel can create gorgeous fluorescent yellows from both the fronds and blooms. 

When gathering dye plants in the wild, make sure that you ethically forage, properly identify your plants, ask permission as needed, never take more than a plant or place can sustain (unless the goal is to harvest your full plant or to repurpose what may be considered invasive, waste or weeds), and always gather with awareness and gratitude. Knowing your sources, the plants, people, and ecologies you gather from is the best way to engage in regenerative and healthy practices with plant-made color. 

COLOR MEDICINE

Calming shades of yellow from calendula, soothing pinks from aloe leaves, steely blues from elderberry, and healing greens from yarrow, comfrey, and nettle – plant dyes can offer both healing remedies and beautiful color.  These therapeutic tones made from medicinal plants can also make gorgeous healthy hues at home. 

Aloe dye can be made from the roots of the plant for warm coral tones and from the leaves for pinks and yellow shades, depending on the pH of the soil and the water that creates the dye. Aloe as a dye holds two-fold the benefits of color medicine on cloth – its non-toxic beautiful hues and its ability to add nurturing elements. Unlike synthetic dyes, natural dyes by their very nature are nourishing, soothing, and replenishing to the wearer and the dyer. 

ALOE DYE RECIPE
Aloe spp.

Aloe, a succulent whose soothing leaf gel helps to heal burns, keep the skin hydrated, and offer UV protection from the sun’s powerful rays, can also make calming color palettes. Aloe is used as a plant dye in many areas of South Africa, where the roots are most often used to dye wool red and brown. From the leaves you can also make luminous soft yellows and pinks—without the use of any additional mordant. 

No mordant (additional binder) is necessary to create soothing yellows. A source of alkalinity, like soda ash, added to the dye bath can also conjure soft pinks and coral hues.  This recipe works best on protein fibers like silk and wool. 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

4 oz of dry weight clean wool or silk fiber

16 oz of chopped aloe leaves

To shift from yellow tones to pinks, use 4% weight of soda ash to dry fiber 

GETTING STARTED

-Soak your natural fibers in lukewarm water and a pH-neutral soap for at least 20 minutes. Overnight is best.

-Chop the aloe and place it in a stainless-steel pot (reserve a pot just for dyeing, not for eating) full of enough water to cover your fiber and to allow your materials to move freely.

-Set the heat to 180°F (82°C) and simmer for 20-40 minutes until water begins to turn a bright peach color. Once the water starts to turn pink, turn off the heat and strain the plant material from the dye liquid.

-Place the wet fabric in the dye liquid and bring the dye bath back up to a simmer. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. For more saturated yellows, let the fiber steep overnight.

-When you have reached the desired hue, gently wash with a pH-neutral soap, rinse thoroughly, and hang to dry in the shade.

 

For more herbal hues and natural dye recipes, projects, and inspiration, check out these books written by Sasha. 

Duerr, Sasha. 2016. Natural color: Vibrant plant dye projects for your home and wardrobe.  Watson-Guptill. 

Duerr, Sasha. 2020. Natural Palettes: Inspiration from plant-based color. Princeton Architectural Press.

 

Photo credits: 1) Herbs used for dyeing; 2) Botanicals yield a variety of hues; 3) Aloe and other dye plants; 4) Aloe yields a yellow dye; 5) Pink and yellow dye from aloe. All photos courtesy of the author. 

Medicinal Disclaimer: It is the policy of The Herb Society of America, Inc. not to advise or recommend herbs for medicinal or health use. This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a recommendation or an endorsement of any particular medical or health treatment. Please consult a health care provider before pursuing any herbal treatments.

 

Habitat: Nature’s Masterpiece

Philadelphia Flower Show 2021

By Janice Cox

Hello and happy summer to all of you! This year, I was super lucky and got to attend The Philadelphia Flower Show, one of the premier horticultural events in the country. It is the nation’s largest and the world’s longest running horticultural event, and features stunning displays by some very talented and amazing floral and landscape designers. It is also the major fundraiser for The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which was founded in 1827. Their efforts include building community gardens, creating public gardens, and offering educational opportunities. This year, the show made history by going outdoors for the first time. This made it possible for more displays and also offered major improvements to FDR park in South Philadelphia where the show was located. Being outdoors had some challenges as the weather was less than cooperative. It was also a new time of year for the show, being in June rather than the traditional February, which is a slower time for gardeners, landscapers, and growers. There was a heat wave and major thunderstorm activity that blew the roof off a few displays and wiped out a few gardens. Yet despite the challenges of a new location, it was one of the best years ever, and coming out of the challenges of 2020, attendees were thrilled to be outdoors enjoying nature, plants, and each other.  I heard several times how happy everyone was to just be there, and one designer even commented, “It was plants that got us through last year and the COVID pandemic and the reason we are here today.”

The 2021 show theme was “Habitat: Nature’s Masterpiece,” and the displays were amazing, creating habitats for people, plants, and wildlife. The ideas were creative and inspiring, and many of them could be incorporated into your own home gardens. Creating areas for pollinators, dining and living outdoors, and building up community experiences with herbs and plants in your neighborhoods were showcased.   

I hope you will join me on Tuesday, July 20 at 1pm Eastern when I will share some projects you can create yourself with herbs at home inspired by the show. I will also share some of the award-winning gardens and designers. This year’s “Best of Show” went to Wambui Ippolito whose design won because of the wonderful way she combined color, horticulture, and unique design elements. It was influenced by her upbringing in the Great Rift Valley in Africa, as well as her lifelong travels. Ippolito’s garden was named “Etherea” and was very contemporary in style. It evoked a feeling of peace in nature. 

Here are a few more themes and ideas from The Philadelphia Flower Show:  

Recycle:  Reusing, recycling and upcycling is not a new idea, but it is one that is here to stay. Many of the displays used materials that often end up in landfills.  One team even built a bench and filled it with discarded plastic, pots, hoses, tools, and old garden ornaments. Another display had a flock of birds all fashioned out of used aluminum soda cans. 

Community:  Using your plants and love of plants to share with others was also a theme. Creating a free seed library, where people could share seeds or “check them out” and return more in the fall, was one idea I loved. There was also a competition between landscapers to transform “Hell Strips” into “Heaven Strips–hell strips being the area in most major cities between the curb and the sidewalk that is often bare or not maintained.  

Pollinators:  Planting for pollinators is something we herb lovers just know how to do. There were so many displays focused not just on bees, but on other pollinators as well, such as birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and even cicadas. I got to attend the butterfly experience, which was magical, and also learned that you really have to do some research to attract butterflies to your yard. Each species has different things they need from their potential host plants.   

Grow Bags:  Everyone loves growing herbs and flowers in containers, but grow bags seem to be gaining popularity. They are affordable, easy to store, and promote healthier root systems than standard plastic nursery pots. I attended a “Potting Party,” where we planted grow bags with “thrillers, fillers, and spillers:”  zinnias, basil, and thyme, respectively 

Herbs:  The use of herbs was everywhere and in almost every display. The focus was on local plants and also ones that were useful. I noticed a lot of yarrow, lavender, rosemary, and thyme. I think this is due to the fact that they are so popular and easily recognized, loved by pollinators, and also can withstand drought conditions and bad weather (which this outdoor show certainly had!).  

Our webinars are free to The Herb Society of America members and $5.00 for guests. Become a member today, and enjoy all of our webinars for free along with access to the webinar library with over fifty program titles. To register, visit  www.HerbSociety.org/hsa-learn/hsa-webinars/

Happy Growing!

Photo Credits: 1) The Philadelphia Flower Show 2021 rendering (Pennsylvania Horticultural Society); 2) Recycling symbol (public domain); 3) Bees on sunflower (Chrissy Moore); 4) Rosemary and Thymus ‘Aureus’ (Chrissy Moore).

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Janice Cox is an expert on the topic of natural beauty and making your own cosmetic products with simple kitchen and garden ingredients. She is the author of three best-selling books on the topic: Natural Beauty at Home, Natural Beauty for All Seasons, and Natural Beauty from the Garden. She is currently the beauty editor for Herb Quarterly Magazine, is a member of the editorial advisory board for Mother Earth Living Magazine, and is a member of The Herb Society of America, International Herb Association, United States Lavender Growers Association, Oregon Lavender Association, and Garden Communicators International. 

Herbal Hacks, Part 4: Herbs for the Home

This is our last installment of reader-submitted herbal hacks – herbs for the home. We hope they’ve inspired you to use herbs in new and creative ways. Enjoy!  

When your “Italian herbs” (whether store-bought or home-mixed) reach the end of their tasty usefulness, place them in the coffee grinder and pulverize. Then, mix equal parts herbs and baking soda and strew over your wool carpet. Let sit for one hour or overnight, then vacuum. It is surprisingly deodorizing and refreshing! – Lisa de Vries

Got a big patch of lemon balm in the garden? Freshen up your sink disposal after trimming the lemon balm leaves to use in salads! Stuff the stems down the drain and whirr away for lemony freshness. – Peg Deppe

I drop lavender essential oil on wool dryer balls for a fresh fragrance on my laundry. – Cynthia Wheeler

I fill large tea bags with lavender flowers, seal them with a curling iron, and then place them in my clothing to keep moths out…and they smell so good! – Rena Barnett

Herb sprinkles for aromatherapy: I am not a very good housekeeper since I would much rather be doing other things – especially being outside in the garden. Worst of all, I do not like to vacuum – I avoid it like the plague. A way to make the task more pleasant and clean out the pantry or apothecary at the same time, is to use up your old, spent herbs. I sprinkle them around on the carpets in all the different rooms – anything from thyme to rosemary, and oregano to lemon balm, peppermint, or anise hyssop. Just liberally scatter them about with reckless abandon. Then, when you vacuum, you really notice what you are doing, and you are treating yourself to aromatherapy at the same time. Depending upon which herbs you use, inhaling the herbal fragrances can relax or stimulate you or give you a sunny disposition and helps to get the job done. – Susan Belsinger

Use a lavender-filled sachet in the dryer when drying your linens. Spray your lingerie with rose water. – Kim Labash

Use lavender buds to fill cloth bags for all closets and some drawers. You can purchase the lavender and/or the bags – but make sure there are no tiny bugs in either! – Becki Smith

Probably not a new idea, but I like to hang little bundles of fragrant herbs in my guest bathroom. If you include roses, the bundles can look attractive as well as adding fragrance. – Elizabeth Kennel

There are two herbs in my garden that are indispensable air fresheners – without the need for wicks or spray bottles. The foliage of both Tagetes lucida (winter tarragon, mint marigold) and Pycnanthemum muticum (mountain mint) will release fragrance for a very long time in a dry bouquet. The mountain mint is sharp and refreshing, especially in the winter. The marigold is simply one of my favorite scents in the world, soft and sweet like nothing else I know. Please do try it. – Ann Lamb 

Photo Credits: 1) Floral border (Pxfuel); 2) Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) (Erin Holden); 3) Dryer balls (Christine Rondeau via Creative Commons); 4) Lavender sachets (Pixabay)